*There’s a situation going on off the field in the European Championship.
Paul Pogba is the latest soccer superstar to overtly snub official sponsors after the France player removed a bottle of Heineken placed in front of him at a Euro 2020 press conference. The move followed soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo removing a bottle of Coke from his presser.
Pogba, a devout Muslim, was seen moving the beer bottle from the table directly in front of him as he took questions under media obligations following France’s opening victory over Germany on Tuesday night. For Muslims, alcohol is “haram” or forbidden.
Apparently, his move has some in the soccer world clutching their pearls. Folks on social media were quick to point out that such condemnation of a Euro 2020 sponsor didn’t follow Ronaldo’s removal of the Coke bottles, and sarcastically wondered why that could be
People PRAISING Ronaldo for removing a bottle of coke from press conference & celebrating water
People HATING on Pogba for removing a bottle of Heineken (non-alcoholic as it turns out but he didn’t know) because alcohol is against his faith
Racism 2.0
— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) June 16, 2021
In case you missed Renaldo’s Coke maneuver…
Renaldo moved the two Coke bottles out of the camera frame and held up the bottle of water – saying in Portuguese: “Water!” – because he’s an advocate of a healthy diet.
The Portugal captain’s move coincided with a $4 billion drop in the market value of the beverage company. Coca-Cola saw its share price drop by 1.6% to $55.22 soon after Ronaldo’s actions. The market value went from $242 billion to $238 billion
Coca-Cola, an official sponsor of Euro 2020 along with Heineken, responded in a statement that “everyone is entitled to their drink preferences” with different “tastes and needs.”
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